Boiler. A Russian court extended this Monday until June 5 the preventive detention of the Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison accused of spreading “false information” about the army.
At the hearing held in Kazan, Kurmasheva appeared smiling, but complained about the harsh conditions of detention, in particular the state of her cell, reported an AFP reporter present at the hearing.
Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a media outlet funded by the US Congress, was arrested in 2023 and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent” as well as spreading “false information.” on the Russian army, a penalty that can be punished by up to 15 years in prison.
RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said the accusations against Kurmasheva “are baseless and a political ploy.”
Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her husband and two teenage daughters, traveled to Russia to visit her sick grandmother, but was unable to leave the country as authorities confiscated both her Russian and American passports.
According to Russian media, the accusations of spreading “false information” about the army are based on its participation in the publication of a book about the testimony of Russians who oppose the offensive in Ukraine.
Washington accuses Moscow of unjustifiably arresting American citizens and then exchanging them for Russians imprisoned in Western countries.
The American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March 2023 while reporting and is accused of espionage, charges that both the reporter, the United States and the newspaper where he works deny.
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– 2024-04-09 18:25:16
